Zelos Meets His Match!
by Infinite Blue
Summary: And now for something completely different... Raine and Zelos, DATING? What the hell is this author thinking? Let's find out, shall we? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Tales of Symphonia, mmkay?

**Just a few side notes: **Just to get things straight here, I do not support Raine and Zelos as a couple. At all. I just thought it would be humorous to see what would happen if they were to be 'forced' together, and I wanted to try something a little different. While I'm at it, I might as well mention that this takes place after the game, probably a few years. This way, there's enough prosperity and technology for Symphonians to develop pastimes like dating shows. XD Also, it's probably safe to assume this fic is rated K, but I added that little plus just in case. Now, let's begin, shall we?

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The iron gates opened with a loud clank. A chorus of applause roared throughout the Meltokio Stadium as a man, with a handsome smile, entered the arena. This place was no longer used for gladiator matches, as it had been when Sylvarant and Tethe'alla were separated. Instead, over the years it became known as the home of Symphonia's well-known dating game show, Meet Your Match. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen," he called out, in his newscaster-like voice, "today we have a young man hailing from Tethe'alla with us. He's a charmer, all right; in fact, many ladies would love to have him as their Chosen." He winked at the audience, smiling at his own pun.

From what was formerly the prisoners' ward, a man with flowing red locks entered the arena, his eyes twinkling deviously as he blew a kiss to the audience, causing the squeals and sighs of many women and girls in the crowd. "Wow, what a ladies' man!" exclaimed the host. "So, are you ready to," the crowd joined him on the last few words, "Meet Your Match?"

"You bet I am," replied Zelos, smirking.

"Alrighty, then," said the host, pointing to three booths, a number on each of their curtains. "Behind each one of these curtains is a different lady, each with a different personality and style! Choose carefully, because you're going to have to go on a date with whichever girl you end up choosing! So what will it be, curtain number one, two, or three?" He pointed to each one accordingly.

"Hmm," said Zelos, putting a finger to his lips. "I think I'll go with... Curtain number two!" The red drape of booth number two slid back, and Zelos' eyes widened. The silver-haired, blue-eyed woman inside looked equally shocked. "Raine!" he gasped, not sure how to react to this.

"Zelos!" she exclaimed, panicked, "W-w-what are you doing here!" Her cheeks were tinged with red, and her face was similar to those of a deer caught in headlights.

Zelos smirked. "I think the question is what _you're_ doing here, Miss Raine," he replied, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't sure what he was more amused by: her lack of calm composure or the fact that she was desperate enough to go on a dating show. Her face turned scarlet with embarrassment.

"This is not what it looks like! I can explain!" she squeaked. Zelos crossed his arms, and looked at her as if saying _Yeah, I'd like to see you try._ She scowled at him. "What? You don't believe me?" she snapped, back to her usual demeanor, though still a little red in the face. "Don't flatter yourself. This is what happened..."

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Flashback Time!

"Come on, Sis! Just try it!" insisted Genis, grinning mischievously as he put the envelope on the table in front of her.

"Absolutely not," Raine replied, reading a book entitled Flanoir: A History. "I'm not interested in meeting someone on a game show, Genis. Besides, they'd never want someone like me. They just want the bubbly types with all beauty and no brains. They probably wouldn't select me even if I _did_ enter."

"What, are you kidding?" said Colette from the other end of the table, with a grin. "You've got both brains and beauty! You could knock 'em dead!" Lloyd, sitting next to her, nodded in agreement.

"Thanks for the compliment," she said, turning the page, "but there are hundreds of girls all over Symphonia who sign up for this thing. Even if they select the names at random, I wouldn't have a chance, especially as a half-elf."

"You wanna bet?" said Genis, waving the paper. "Tell you what: I'll make a wager with you. Sign up to be on Meet Your Match. If you make it, you have to go. And if you don't make it..." He pondered for a minute, trying to think of something, "I'll build you a new trunk for all those artifacts you have!"

"Hmm..." replied Raine, her eyes still glued to the pages. She thought about it for a few seconds. _Well, I could use a new trunk... And there's almost no chance of me making it on that show... _"Fine," she concluded, filling out the form and handing it back to Genis. "Now will you let me read in peace?"

To her horror, the next week she found a letter in the mailbox telling her that she had made it.

-End Flashback-

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"You lost a bet!" said Zelos, breaking out in laughter. He had to clutch the sides of his stomach to keep himself from falling over in hysterics.

Raine twitched angrily, nodding. He burst out into another fit of laughter, and she snapped. "Be quiet!" she snarled, smacking him on the back of the head. A few females in the audience gasped, fearing for their redheaded hero.

"Ow!" Zelos whined, rubbing the spot with his gloved hand. "Now, now, Professor... Is that the way to treat your date?" He gave her a sly grin, to which Raine looked absolutely horrified. "Sorry, hunny, but the rules are the rules. This is how the game works. You have to go on a date with me." Raine pressed her palm against her forehead. She could not believe what bad luck she was having lately. Why, of all the doors, did he have to pick number two? Grudgingly, she took his hand and they walked out of the stadium.

"And that's all for today's show!" called out the host, following behind them, the arena filling with applause as he gave them one last flashy smile.

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And that's all for chapter one of Zelos Meets his Match! I hope you liked it! Chapter 2 is on its way, which is supposed to be the last chapter of this story. For those of you disappointed with the lack of romance in this chapter, I apologize. Maybe we'll get some romance -- or the lack thereof -- by chapter 2, hm?

Questions? Comments? Insults, even:P

Please review and I'll reply as soon as I possibly can.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, and welcome to chapter two! I'm pleased that you're still reading at this point:)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters of Tales of Symphonia.

"So, what will it be, darling? Making love under the stars or a candlelight dinner?" teased Zelos as the two of them walked along the streets of Meltokio.

"Neither," replied Raine through gritted teeth. _Of all the people to ever be on that show, why did they have to pick us?_ "I have no intention of going out anywhere with you." She was still holding his hand, despite the fact that nobody was watching the two of them anymore.

Zelos took note of this. "Really? Then why are you still holding my hand?" Raine immediately unlatched her fingers and walked with her hands at her sides. "Oh, I see," said Zelos, smirking, "If that's how you want to act, I can play that way too." He turned his head away with a hmph. "I don't want to go out with you anyway," he said in a mock snooty voice.

"Fine, it's settled then, let's not," replied Raine.

"Tch, you're no fun," said Zelos. "Haven't you ever heard of that... reversey... thingy?"

"You mean reverse psychology?" said Raine, rolling her eyes. "Of course I have. Idiot."

"You dare call me, the great Zelos Wilder, Chosen of Tethe'alla, an idiot?" He grinned and flexed his arm muscles. "I may just have to beat you up for that, young lady."

"I'll take my chances of calling you an idiot," sniffed Raine, "besides... That's no way to be talking to your date."

Zelos' jaw dropped. "_What! _ You're actually gonna do it!"

"I have no choice, remember?" she replied dryly, putting her hands on her hips. "Now, before we go anywhere, I need to head back home first to frost that cake I've been baking." Zelos cringed at this thought -- he knew how bad her cooking was -- and silently prayed to Martel in his thoughts that he wouldn't have to try it. She ignored him. "We need to take the Rheiards if we want to make it there before dark. You brought your wingpack, right?"

"Um, no."

Raine clenched her fists and bit her lip, then heaved a defeated sigh. "Alright. You'll just have to ride on the back of mine, then." She released the Rheiard from the Wingpack, and hoisted herself on. Zelos followed suit and sat behind her, lightly holding on to her waist. "Don't touch me, Zelos," she warned coldly.

"Relax, I'm just holding on so I won't fall off," Zelos replied, "Jeez. I'm not a complete pervert, you know?" He almost sounded hurt by her reaction.

"Then would you please prove it tonight? For both of our sakes?" responded Raine tiredly. She accelerated the Rheiard, and it thrusted into the air, the flurry of wind blowing red and silver hair carelessly through the breeze.

"You've got it, professor," he replied, grinning.

"...Thank you, Zelos," said Raine, trying to keep her focus on where she was going. To be honest, she almost liked the feeling of Zelos' soft grasp. She couldn't remember the last time she was in someone's arms, even in a subtle, unintended way such as this. Her mother and father were never there to let her know what it was like to be held; and she and Genis just didn't have a touchy-feely kind of relationship either. ((A/N: I am not referring to incest. Thank you. )) His hands slowly slid lower, and lower, and lower...

"Zelos!" she snapped angrily.

"Sorry, won't happen again," he said quickly, placing his hands up higher.

Finally, they arrived back in Iselia. They coasted and came to a halt at the Sages' house. Genis, Lloyd, and Colette bolted toward the door and stepped outside. "So, did you get hooked up?" Genis inquired, as he looked at Raine. But, seeing that nobody was there except for Zelos, he sighed. "I guess not, huh?"

Lloyd looked at the crimson haired man. "Hey, Zelos. What brings you here?" he asked, not quite making the connection.

Raine opened her mouth to say 'nothing,' but Zelos managed to speak first. "Why, I've been set up on a date with Professor Sage," he replied smugly.

"What? No way!" exclaimed Colette, her eyes widening. "I had no idea you signed up too, Zelos!"

"Why wouldn't I?" asked Zelos, bewildered, "for anything that hooks me up with hotties, you can count me in!" He grinned. Raine scowled at this comment, but stopped after his next comment: "but this time, I got an even better deal; both brains and beauty! What luck, huh?" Raine wasn't sure whether or not to take this as a compliment.

After frosting the cake, which was composed mostly of garlic and was extremely burnt on the bottom, she headed back outside to find Zelos, leaning against the side of the house. "So, are you ready to go?" he asked idly. "Lloyd's letting me borrow his rheiard for tonight, so you won't have to put up with me touching you again."

"No, that's alright, you can give it back to him," replied Raine, getting up on her rheiard, "he might need it for something. I won't mind just this once. Now hurry up and get on."

"Yes, ma'am," replied Zelos, giving a playful salute and climbing up behind her again. Once again they thrust up into the sky. A brilliant sunset blazed across the horizon as the two of them flew into the distance.

And that's it for chapter 2. I'm going to extend this into a third chapter because I'm tired of writing right now. See you all at Chapter 3!

Once again, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions (or even insults) please leave a review and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Sayonara!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own any characters from Tales of Symphonia, and I probably never will. ;3

**Just a few side notes:** Thanks to all of those who reviewed and who are still reading. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that there are people who like my work.

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"So, where are we headed?" asked Zelos, scarlet strands blowing back in the wind as the rheiard ascended into the skies.

"Where to?" responded Raine, internally asking herself the same thing as he did orally.

"Well," he said, giving it a bit of thought, "...now that I think about it, Regal said something earlier about there being a fireworks show down at the beach in Altamira tonight. How about that?"

_The beach...?_ thought Raine uneasily. _But that means being near water... Though it's not exactly like he's asking me to go in the lake... Oh, but what if the tide comes in and--_ "You don't want to?" cut in Zelos, blocking out her thought processes.

"What? Um, no, the beach is fine," she replied, keeping her eyes ahead.

"Then why were you so hesitant? You afraid of fireworks or somethin'?"

"No, of course not," replied Raine, relieved not to hear any hints about water, "I was just... thinking it over. It was nothing."

"Alrighty then," said Zelos, convinced-- or at least pretending to be. It didn't matter, either way. They didn't speak to each other for the rest of the flight. Finally, the bright lights of Altamira were in focus, and they descended into the city. Raine contained the rheiard into the wingpack and tucked it away. As they walked along the brick path, an employee dashed up to them, her bunny ears flopping up and down as she did so.

"Hey there, Chosen One," she said flirtatiously, "remember me?"

"Of course, hunny," replied Zelos, with a toss of his hair and a wink. "But if you're caught here talking to me, you might get in trouble. You'd better get back to work. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Alright, Chosen," she swooned, and returned to her post.

"Who was that?" asked Raine, an eyebrow raised and her arms crossed.

"I have no idea," replied Zelos, "but there had to be some way to get her to leave. Come on, let's go." The two of them walked down to the shoreline, and sat down near the edge of the cliff that overlooked the beach. Raine pulled out something wrapped in a spotted handkerchief.

"Here, it's a piece of that cake I was baking earlier today," said Raine, handing it to him, "nobody else wanted to try it, so I was wondering if you'd like to."

"Uhh... sure." _Oh, no. Raine's cooking... Man, what should I do? Hah! Zelos, you coward! Just take it like a man!_ Determinedly, he took a bite out of the cake, and almost gagged. The texture resembled that of overcooked meat, and he could have sworn it had garlic in it. However, due to his experience with looking good in public, he managed to look as if it were absolutely delicious. "Wow, Raine. This is great!" he exclaimed, smiling.

"You're such a liar," she replied, laughing.

"What? No, really, it's great! What are you talking about?" said Zelos. _Damn! I was too obvious!_

"Oh, come now, I tried it myself, it's disgusting. Besides, there's garlic in there. Please, I know better than to put garlic in cake, I'm not _that_ bad of a cook, you know?" She laughed again, and looked up at the sky. The twilight was now gone, replaced with the stars and cosmos, a great blur of specks in the night sky. It was beautiful. "So, the fireworks should be starting soon?" she inquired idly.

"Yeah. You've never seen a fireworks show 'til you've seen one in Altamira!" he exclaimed, nodding his head. "Then again, this is the entertainment capital, it's almost to be expected." At last, they began. Colorful explosions filled the sky, painting the night in swirls of green, yellow, red, and blue. Several lit up and disappeared without a trace, while others slowly trickled a stream of light into the lake. Raine was awestruck by this display; so awestruck, in fact, that she didn't notice for a while that Zelos was holding her hand. When this did come to her attention, however, instead of yelling at him, she quietly laid his hand on the ground.

After what was really only a few minutes, but what felt like a few hours, the show was over. Raine released the rheiard from her wingpack and prepared to climb on, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Hey," said Zelos, "why don't you let me escort you home for the night, miss?" He grinned.

"Sure, why not?" Raine replied, shrugging. They both climbed up onto the machine, Zelos on the front, and Raine on the back. She held her hands lightly at his sides as the rheiard thrusted into the sky.

"Hey, I thought you weren't the touchy-feely type?" said Zelos, smirking.

"Don't be ridiculous," replied Raine, putting her head on his shoulder, smiling, and closing her eyes. "I'm just holding on... so I don't fall off."

**The End**

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And that's the end of this story. I suppose there's room to keep going if enough people ask me to, but I think this is a suitable place to finish for now. Thanks for reading Zelos Meets His Match, I hope you enjoyed it.

Yours Truly,

Infinite Blue


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